Location: Gold Coast (rural placements available in South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales)

Type of Degree: Undergraduate

Length:  4 Years, 8 Months

Rural Focus: Bond University does not offer a rural entry scheme. Rural applicants are required to apply through the standard pathway. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Entry: Bond University offers an Indigenous Entry Pathway that considers applicants from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, as well consideration for the First Nations Medical Scholarship. Applicants must meet university requirements. 

Admission scores: Applicants require a minimum ATAR of 96 or a minimum GPA of 6.0 for applicants with tertiary qualifications.

Based on academic achievement (ATAR and GPA), applicants are offered to do online psychometric testing. Psychometric testing is used to select for interview offers. Bond University does not require UCAT.

Bond University allocated 80% of places to undergraduate applicants (Year 12 school leavers) and 20% to graduate applicants.

Location: Townsville and Cairns (rural sites in Thursday Island, Weipa, Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Longreach, Atherton, Mackay)

Type of Degree: Undergraduate

Length:  6 Years

Rural Focus: JCU encourages rural students to apply through their Rural Access Scheme, which allows students to be considered for an offer into medicine reserved for rural students. Selection for JCU medicine is based on ATAR and an interview (UCAT is not required). 

For more information, please visit: https://www.jcu.edu.au/applying-to-jcu/general-information/rural-access-scheme 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Entry: JCU offers the Indigenous Medical pathway to support entry of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into medicine. Applicants of this pathway will be eligible to receive a reserved offer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Applicants for this pathway must apply through QTAC and directly to JCU for the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery. 

For more information, please visit: https://www.jcu.edu.au/academy/application-forms/domestic-applications-for-medicine-dentistry-and-veterinary-science/rural-and-indigenous-programs#:~:text=To%20be%20eligible%2C%20you%20must,a%20place%20under%20the%20scheme. 

Admission scores: Students commencing JCU Cairns medicine in 2024 had ATAR scores ranging between 87.70 and 99.95. Students commencing JCU Townsville medicine in 2024 had ATAR scores ranging between 87.60 and 99.95. JCU does not require UCAT for admission. 

Location: Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast (with rural campuses in South East Queensland and the Burnett regions)

Type of Degree: Postgraduate

Length: 4 Years

Rural Focus: Griffith University offers the Rural Priority Access Scheme which are priority places in the medicine program for rural students. Students apply for this scheme through their GEMSAS application. There is an option for Griffith medical students to undertake placements in rural settings in South East Queensland and the Burnett regions including Toowoomba, Stanthorpe, Warwick, Dalby and Palm Island. Griffith University also offers the Rural Longlook Program where students can opt to spend either one or two years in a rural hospital rather than short-term based rotations in the locations above. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Entry: Griffith University offers the First Peoples Health Pathway for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants. For high school leavers who want to enter the Bachelor of Medical Science (School Leaver pathway to Doctor of Medicine), this pathway may be eligible for the degree with a minimum ATAR of 99.0, as compared to 99.80 for standard entry. For graduate entry, applicants must have a GPA of 5.0 or higher, apply for Griffith University via GEMSAS. Applicants will attend an interview and must also provide a personal resume and written statement. Applicants applying via the First Peoples Health Pathway are not required to sit the GAMSAT. 

Admission scores: Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 5.0 in their most recent degree and a minimum score of 50 in each GAMSAT section (not required for applicants of the First Peoples Health Pathway). Applicants are ranked for interview from a 50/50 combination of unweighted GPA and overall GAMSAT score. 

Location: Brisbane, Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Capricorn Coast, Gladstone, Central Highlands, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, North Burnett

Type of Degree: Postgraduate 

Length:  4 Years

Rural Focus: UQ has various different pathways and schemes for rural applicants to enter their Doctor of Medicine degree. Rural provisional entry and graduate entry applicants can apply for the Rural Background Sub-quota which will allow for 2 adjustments added to their selection rank (for Provisional Entry applicants) and GAMSAT score (Graduate Entry applicants) and have automatic consideration for the Rural Background Sub-quota. 

Provisional Entry Pathways: This is available to final year high school students and means that students are on the pathway to enter medicine as long as they meet certain requirements of their undergraduate degree. There are two provisional entry pathways which have a rural medicine focus:

Central Queensland - Wide Bay Regional Medical Pathway: Students apply for the Bachelor of Medical Sciences (Pathway to Medicine), offered by CQUniversity (CQU) at their Rockhampton and Bundaberg campuses. The pathway guarantees entry into the UQ medicine program based on the successful completion of the Bachelor of Medical Sciences at CQU with an overall GPA of 5.0. Successful students will complete their medicine degree at the Rural Clinical School in Central Queensland or Wide Bay. Students are required to apply through CQU and must meet their entry requirements. 

Darling Downs - South West Medical Pathway: Students apply for the Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences (Medicine Pathway) offered by the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) at their Toowoomba campus. The pathway guarantees entry into the UQ medicine program based on successful completion of the Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medicine Pathway) with an overall GPA of 5.0. Successful students will complete their medicine degree at the Rural Clinical School in Darling Downs - South West region. Students are required to apply through UniSQ and must meet their entry requirements. 

Graduate Entry Pathways: These pathways are available to people who have completed a previous university degree. There are two graduate entry pathways with a focus on rural medicine:

Central Queensland - Wide Bay Regional Medical Pathway: This pathway will allow successful applicants to complete the MD program in the Central Queensland and Wide Bay regions. Selection for this pathway will be based on successful completion of subject prerequisite courses, GPA of at least 5.0, minimum score of 50 in each section of the GAMSAT and an interview. Applicants from the Central Queensland or Wide Bay region will be considered first for the program and rural applicants will be considered second.

Darling Downs - South West Medical Pathway: This pathway will allow successful applicants to complete their first year in Greater Brisbane before moving to the Rural Clinical Schools in the Darling Downs and South West Queensland regions. Selection for this pathway is based on successful completion of subject prerequisite courses, a GPA of at least 5.0, minimum score of 50 in each section of the GAMSAT and an interview. Applicants from Darling Downs or South West are considered first for entry, followed by rural applicants.  

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Entry: UQ offers both a Provisional Entry pathways and a Graduate Entry pathway for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants. 

Provisional Entry Pathways (for high school graduates):

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MD Provisional Entry: This is available to students who have completed Year 12. Applicants are required to attend two interviews. The submission of a UCAT score is encouraged but not compulsory. Once in the pathway, students will have guaranteed entry into medicine based in the Greater Brisbane area after the successful completion of a bachelor's degree at UQ and the completion of two subject prerequisite courses. 

Central Queensland - Wide bay Regional Medical pathway: There is a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander provisional entry admission pathway for Central Queensland and Wide Bay applicants through CQ University Bachelor of Medical Science (Pathway to Medicine). Please refer to CQ University website for full admission requirements: https://www.cqu.edu.au/courses/700125/bachelor-of-medical-science-pathway-to-medicine 

Darling Downs - South West Medical pathway: There is a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Provisional Entry Admission Pathway for Darling Downs and South West applicants through the University of Southern Queensland Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences (Medicine Pathway). Please refer to the UniSQ website for full admission requirements: https://www.unisq.edu.au/study/degrees/bachelor-of-biomedical-sciences-medicine-pathway 

Graduate Entry Pathway:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Graduate Entry Admission Pathway: This is available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants who have completed a bachelor’s degree. Admission is based on the successful completion of subject prerequisite courses and attending two interviews. Applicants are encouraged to submit a GAMSAT score for consideration but this is not compulsory. Applicants can apply directly through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit and/or through GEMSAS. For more information, please visit: https://study.uq.edu.au/admissions/doctor-medicine/aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-pathways/graduate-entry 

Admission scores: Most graduate applicants require a minimum GPA of 5.0 and a minimum score of 50 in each section of the GAMSAT for admission. Most provisional entry students require an adjusted ATAR of 95 and a competitive UCAT score. Please check the above sections for any admission requirements adjustments.